


Safer Sex

by Vector



Series: Safer Sex series [1]
Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Age Difference, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 16:59:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4229730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vector/pseuds/Vector
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blue Rose is hired to take place in an ad campaign promoting safer sex. Of course, sex takes two, so one of the other heroes is assigned to work with her. Wild Tiger is the perfect choice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safer Sex

"Karina, I've got a new assignment for you," her manager drawls, in the tone that says she's not going to like it. Her eyes narrow automatically. "It's for a non-profit sponsor."

"Non-profit?" Karina says, not bothering to hide her surprise. She's not sure she's ever heard that word at the company before.

"Yes, well, they aren't offering much, but it's the sort of thing that will be good for your image," he smiles slimily. Of course. 

"What is it?" She asks, tired already.

"It's a safer sex campaign for Foreseen Families," he says, looking at her sidelong before he finishes talking, like he knows exactly how she's going to react to that.

She can't exactly _not_ react that way, though. "What?! What exactly does that mean, I'm not going to—"

"No, no," he interrupts immediately with quelling hand motions. "It's nothing like that, of course, that would be far too scandalous. A few suggestive photoshoots, barely anything more than usual. No video, even, they can't afford something like that."

Karina suspects he made it sound as bad as possible to start with so that she would be more likely to accept he once he explained. She sighs, crossing her arms. "Fine."

"Good! I've worked in some time for it over the next two days. Mid-season interviews start after that, so later's no good." 

Karina turns to go without really acknowledging that, but he raises a finger and speaks up again. "One more thing… we've gotten another hero to work with you on this. After all, for sex you need a partner, right?"

She pauses, staring at him over her shoulder. "Another hero?"

"Mm, well," he mumbles. "We wanted Barnaby… Don't you think you'd be a good match? But that guy over at Apollon said there's no way they'd run a campaign that suggested something like that. 'It would hurt his appeal as an eligible bachelor,' or whatever. Fortunately there was another option."

Karina freezes, steeling herself as she slowly runs over the possibilities. Not Dragon Kid or Fire Emblem, obviously. The idea of Sky High in a safer sex campaign is too goofy to take seriously. Origami, maybe, but his company doesn't usually do high-profile campaigns like that. Rock Bison—she grimaces to herself—but if not him, then—

"They offered us Wild Tiger, of course." 

Karina jerks her head completely away so he can't see how red her face turns. But she can still hear his grating conciliatory tone, as he fortunately misinterprets her reaction. "Well, he's a bit old, but he's the perfect underdog. There won't be any problem with his image if you dominate him a little. And your fans will enjoy it too." She can't even manage a response, and the silence grows for a long moment before he tries again. "Karina, this is the sort of thing that could make your career—"

"Fine!" she yells, too loud. "It's fine!" And she flees out the door before he can say anything else. She doesn't really care what he thinks of that.

***

"Yes, that's good! Just hold them a little higher, and smile."

Karina has been a mess of nerves when she arrived at the photoshoot, but after an hour of it she's almost bored. The photographer is an older woman called Victoria, who has dark hair pulled back in a severe bun, dramatic lipstick, and a commanding attitude, and Karina had liked her nearly immediately. And Tiger wasn't coming in until later, so for the last hour she's just been running through a string of her normal poses, very little different than usual except for the array of condoms she holds up, with hopefully something approaching a seductive look. Even the HeroTV cameraman there filming the process in case they need it for a backstage special or something is comfortingly familiar.

"Great! You're a natural, Blue Rose," Victoria says with a smile. "I think we're done with this set."

"What's next?" Karina asks as she retrieves her water bottle to take a gulp. 

"Next should be the couple shots," Victoria says, glancing at her watch, and Karina chokes a little on her water as Tiger comes in from the back, waving.

"Sorry! Am I late?" He walks cheerfully over to them, and Karina frantically tries to suppress a coughing fit as Victoria turns to greet him.

"You're just in time. Let's get things going." Victoria looks him up and down with an obviously appraising look, and Karina can't help doing the same, even though it's nothing she hasn't seen before. He's in street clothes, but wearing his mask, of course. "Not too bad. Ditch the suspenders and get tighter pants and that should be a good enough start." She waves him away to the wardrobe area to change. Karina is grateful he's distracted from her blush.

She's glad for Victoria's direction again when he comes back in, since they don't have time to talk before she starts staging them. After a glance, she sets them up with Tiger in a chair, a few condoms placed obviously on a side table next to him. He sprawls in it easily, though he does shoot a sideways glance at Karina.

"You doing okay?"

She jumps. "I'm _fine._ " She stalks over to stand by the chair, turning to Victoria. "Where do you want me?"

Victoria smiles. "Just in front of him and to the side. Angle your body towards—yes, exactly like that. Now, put your foot on the chair between his legs, and grab his tie."

Karina swallows hard and follows the directions, not looking at Tiger longer than it takes to position herself. He jerkily moves his knees further apart to make space for her boot, and she avoids looking at his face as she curls her hand around his tie, looking back at Victoria.

"Mm," Victoria says noncommittally. "Tiger, look at her, not me. No, not her face—there you go. Blue Rose, that's good for now. Just tug his tie a little bit more and look at the camera. Challenge the audience."

Blue Rose does her absolute best to put on a challenging expression as she stares down the camera. It's fine. She's done this a million times before. It doesn't matter whose tie she's grabbing or how close he is. She ignores the flush she can feel creeping up her neck.

It still feels like an eternity passes while Victoria snaps pictures, occasionally offering adjustments, mostly to Tiger. "Stop fidgeting." "Relax, don't grip the chair." "Lean into it a bit more." "Keep your eyes up." 

But eventually she pauses again. "Alright, not bad. Now I want you both to look at each other. Blue Rose, really yank him up and stare him down. Tiger, gaze up at her eyes like she's the only thing you can see."

Karina feels like her whole face must be scarlet, but she finally turns jerkily away from the camera to look down at Tiger. He looks a lot more like he's not sure where he should be looking than like she's the only thing he can see. 

She winces a little, pressing her eyes closed in a hard blink, before composing her face back into what's almost a glare, shifting her weight and sliding her grip on his tie up to the knot. His dumb gorgeous eyes widen a little.

"Ah… are you really sure about this…?" He stutters out awkwardly. 

It's probably directed at her rather than Victoria, but Karina just swallows thickly and Victoria answers for her. "Take a moment if you need." She moves away from her camera, adjusting a light so it doesn't shine as directly into Tiger's eyes.

Karina rallies. "It's _fine_. Come on, are you so incompetent you can't even manage to look at me?" 

Tiger smiles a little. "Right, right. I'll do my best."

When Victoria returns to her camera, Tiger's managed to meet her gaze steadily. He still looks more earnest than intense or seductive or whatever, but that's how he always looks. Her flush doesn't completely fade, but it subsides to a steady warmth rather than overwhelming embarrassment. 

Victoria snaps photos for another interminable period before, surprisingly, the HeroTV cameraman interrupts. "Tiger, do you want to take a break?"

"Ah, yes, that would be—" Tiger starts, and Karina's about to complain that he's barely been here, but really she has no idea how long it's been. 

And in any case Victoria breaks in. Karina can hear a smile in her voice as she demurs. "No, this is good. Let's go with this for a few more shots. Blue Rose, could you slide your foot a bit further in, please?"

"What?" Tiger asks, sounding almost panicked. Blue Rose looks down at her boot automatically. It takes her a second to realize what Victoria's asking. Her foot is currently planted with her heel hooked at the edge of the chair. There are a few inches of space between it and Tiger's thighs. Sliding it up a bit more would mean sliding it in towards Tiger's crotch, where… where there's…

Karina makes an involuntary squeaking noise. There's an obvious bulge in Tiger's pants. If she stares hard enough, she thinks she can even see the outline of his…

"We should break for now!" Tiger says frantically, and stands up. Unfortunately that knocks her leg, which slips off the chair, and she topples, off-balance. Tiger moves automatically to catch her. Which is how she ends up half in his arms, all her weight on him, still awkwardly gripping at his tie. It's almost comedic, but she's frozen, her heart beating wildly. If she just moved in a little closer to him…

She jumps up, releasing Tiger's tie and putting some distance between them as soon as her feet hit the ground. "Yes! That's enough for today, right? I've got to get to practice."

And she dashes out of the room.

***

Karina manages to not think about it for the rest of the day. She does have a busy schedule, after all, and at this point if she let something like this throw her off she'd never get anything done. Even once she's home at her apartment, changing and brushing her teeth and climbing into bed, she doesn't dwell on it. Once she turns the light off and closes her eyes, though, it hits her with full force again, and sleep is the last thing on her mind.

It really had been an erection in his pants. Karina's not exactly unfamiliar with the sight in the general sense, though usually it's a fan and she does her best to ignore it. But with Tiger it was so unexpected she'd doubted it for a moment. Not that she hadn't thought about it. But he's never once in all these years looked at her the way her male fans do. The way he'd reacted to it makes it pretty much certain, though. He wouldn't have been that flustered otherwise. Her face burns hot and she buries it in her pillow.

What was it about it? Was it a fluke? Could she do it again? Would he get turned on if she grabbed his tie and slid her thigh between his legs again? Just the idea of doing something like that on her own is almost too embarrassing to contemplate, but she starts to feel hot between her legs, too. If she'd moved in much closer she would have touched it. What would that be like? To feel that bulge in her pants against her leg or under her hand?

Her sheets start to feel rough against her hot skin, and she rolls over and kicks them off. She slides a hand down into her shorts to touch herself almost automatically. She's so worked up already that even a light touch sends sparks of sensation through her.

What had Tiger been thinking of? Was it just an automatic reaction? He wasn't a teenager. She'd wondered sometimes it he just wasn't interested in women since—his wife died. Her hand stills for a moment in a flash of guilt. But that was a long time ago now. And he did react. There had to be something about it he was enjoying…

She grunts and presses her fingers against herself again. She'd honestly—well, "given up" wasn't the right way to put it. She hadn't ever actually thought there was a chance of getting together with Tiger in reality in the first place, was too aware of how much older than her he was, how bad an idea it would be for her career, and how little attention he paid to her most of the time, even when she felt like the most obvious person in the world. But lately she'd gotten better about not letting it take her over. She could talk to him casually most of the time, could work with him without blushing even when he complimented her, or gave her that one smile, or touched her, and kept her fantasies about what would happen if he _did_ pay attention to her to her nights in her apartment alone.

But he'd given her that look. And she was older now. Old enough for safe sex campaigns, which surely meant she was old enough for—that wasn't the right way to think about it. But still—

Karina gives in to her frustration and turns the light back on so she can retrieve a toy from her nightstand. She's not going to get to sleep like this, so she may as well try to take care of it. And her hand isn't going to be enough when she's aching like this.

The dildo she has is smaller than Tiger would be, she thinks, not for the first time, but now she can't help but compare it to the curve she'd seen in his pants for that moment. She settles down in bed again and holds it between her legs. It's cool, too, until she warms it with the heat of her thighs. Still better than her fingers, but not as good as it would be if she had his body pressed against her. If he _did_ get turned on with her thigh between his legs, what would he look like without his pants on, with one of the condoms she'd posed with for hours unrolled onto his hard dick? What would it feel like if she straddled his lap and slid it inside her like she so badly wants to at times like this—

She pushes the dildo into herself a couple inches, and she can't help crying out at how easily it goes in, how wet she is and how good it feels. Usually it's at least a little rough when she goes this fast. She muffles the noise out of habit, but is grateful once again that she'd decided to get her own place last year. She slides her fingers to the button to activate the vibration and gasps again when it starts up.

Tiger… what if Tiger actually wants her? What if he'd enjoy it too? She thrusts her toy a bit deeper into her as she lets herself imagine it. What if this morning while she'd been staring into his eyes and he was looking at her body as instructed, he'd really been thinking about it? A shiver of pleasure runs down her spine to her toes. She keeps going, squirming under the vibration. It's not enough; she still wants more. She bites her lip hard and slides her free hand up under her shirt, trying to imagine it's Tiger's lips, Tiger's hand…

It feels good, really good, but even when her body has been wracked with helpless shudders twice and she's damp all over and too tired to keep going, turning the motor off and wiping off her toy, it still doesn't feel like it was enough. She turns over again and tries to ignore the warm ache of her body enough to fall asleep.

***

She calls Fire Emblem in the morning. She's desperate enough that she pushes through her embarrassment to explain the situation.

"And then they told me to slide my leg in further, but when I looked down he—he—he… I could see his pants bulging." Her face is burning, but fortunately it's a voice-only call.

"Oh dear," Fire Emblem's soothing voice responds.

"He freaked out, Fire Emblem, what am I going to do? We have to finish the rest of the shoot today."

"Hmm… what precisely are you worried about? It's only another hour or two. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but I'm confident both of you can do your jobs and then pretend it never happened."

Karina sags a little. It sounds impossible, but said like that she knows that it's true. She's faced Tiger a lot of mornings after fantasizing about him already. And she knows by now how good Tiger is at playing things off.

Fire Emblem still can't see her face, but from the tone of his voice she feels like he saw her reaction anyway. "But that's not what you want, is it?"

She's quiet a moment longer.

"Look, Karina dear, if you want it, you have to go for it sometime. This may be the best opportunity you're going to get. You'll have to really go for it, though. Our Tiger is even more oblivious than you."

"Hey," she manages, but without much heat.

"I'm just saying! But you've gotten him to look at you that way, right? Don't let him forget it. And don't run away. Tiger's not the sort to go for what he wants, either."

Karina begins to wonder if Fire Emblem was really the right choice to ask about this. Not that she has ideas for anyone better. "That's easy for you to say. I should really go try and seduce a man twice my age? What if he hates me for it?"

Fire Emblem's voice gets more serious. "I'm not saying it will work. But you've thought about this a lot and you're going to regret it if you don't try, right? Tiger's an adult. He can turn you down if it comes to that. And he's Tiger, so there's no way he'll hate you for it."

Karina's lips quirk in a tiny smile. That much is true. It's hard to imagine Tiger hating anyone. "...Yeah. Well… I'll think about it. Thanks."

"Anytime, dear. Let me know how it goes!"

Karina hangs up. She's still not sure what's she's going to do, but at least she feels a bit better about it.

***

Meanwhile, a few minutes later, Fire Emblem's phone rings again. He tries to look surprised when Tiger flashes up on the screen. "Oh my, what's this, a handsome face so early in the morning? Ah, don't worry, I know. I'm lonely while Handsome is out of town too."

"I need to talk, it's serious." Tiger's face does in fact look serious, and Fire Emblem manages to keep a straight face as Tiger repeats a very similar description of the situation he'd just heard.

"And I have to go back today! How am I going to face her? She probably thinks I'm a disgusting old man."

"Now, now, I'm sure it's not that serious. For a man, that sort of thing happens now and then. If it's just the one time, you don't have anything to worry about. It's not as if you suddenly can't stop thinking about what a sexy woman our Blue Rose is, or as if you had one of your dreams about her, or anything like that, right?"

The panicked look on Tiger's face makes Fire Emblem smile in satisfaction even as Tiger stutters out, "N-No! Of course not! N-Nothing like that!"

"Ah, well." Fire Emblem acts like he believes him, and makes a show of thinking it over. "Regardless, girls have their own desires too, you know. Don't assume so quickly she thinks it's disgusting."

Tiger's brows furrow. "I don't know, I'm pretty sure Blue Rose doesn't want to deal with some old man lusting over her."

"But she's not just Blue Rose, and you're not just some old man," Fire Emblem says with finality, and Tiger grimaces like he said something cryptic. "Just don't make assumptions for her, okay? How long have you known her? I'm sure you can handle this."

"Mm… yeah. I guess you're right. Maybe she'll understand." He doesn't look particularly confident. 

"Either way, you can't just hide from her, right? We all have to keep working together. The big interview event is tomorrow, don't get too worked up." Fire Emblem waves a hand at the screen like he's patting Tiger on the shoulder.

Tiger grins back at him. "Right. A job's a job! I'll try and finish it up. I'll talk to Blue Rose if I need to." He almost sounds admirably confident for a moment, but then slides immediately back into nervous hope. "Maybe she'll want to cancel…" 

"I don't think so." Fire Emblem says, and this time he can't help a smile. "Good luck! Let me know how it goes!"

"Yeah!" Tiger hangs up the phone with enthusiasm.

***

Tiger is fifteen minutes late to the photo shoot in the afternoon, and by minute ten Karina is more annoyed than nervous. How long has he been doing this, and he still can't manage to be on time? Even if he's embarrassed from yesterday, it's not going to be any better ten minutes later. Victoria had greeted Karina normally on her arrival, and doesn't seem too worried about his tardiness either, adjusting her lights as Karina taps her foot impatiently against the floor of the studio.

"Ah, Blue Rose, you can sit down to wait if—" The HeroTV cameraman starts just as Tiger finally slinks in. Karina whirls to face him.

"Tiger, you're late." She glares.

"Ah, yeah, sorry. I got caught in traffic… haha…" He rubs his head abashedly. 

Karina huffs, half still annoyed and half irrationally endeared by how he looks like that. What's endearing about that? It's obviously an excuse. "Whatever. Let's just get started." 

Tiger looks like some of his tension eases, for some reason. "Right!"

"Let's get you changed," Victoria says, pressing clothes into his arms and ushering him back to the changing room. Karina turns away to tap her foot again as she waits. This is really going to happen.

When Tiger comes out again, his clothes aren't all that much different. No suspenders, again, and instead of a pale blue his shirt is a deep red, his tie solid black. And his pants are still well-fitted and tight. Karina manages to not let her eyes linger on his crotch, though she still blushes a bit from the conscious effort. He looks good in it.

"Okay! All ready! Where do we start?" Tiger looks visibly nervous, and he isn't meeting her eyes. He probably wouldn't have noticed even if she _had_ stared at his crotch.

Victoria smiles. "We'll start easy. Blue Rose, go sit in the chair, legs crossed. Look powerful."

"Sure thing." Karina sits, making sure she's angled toward the camera with her lifted heel pointed dramatically, shooting a sideways glance at Tiger. He's still not really looking at her.

"Perfect." Victoria seems pleased, at least. "Now, Tiger, go kneel by her feet, over on that side facing the camera." Karina can't tell if she's relieved or disappointed when he kneels by her planted boot, not even really touching her, facing away.

Victoria adjusts his position a few times before she's satisfied. Then she holds out a wrapped condom. "Now, hold this between your teeth." Victoria's smirk makes Karina regret she can only see the back of Tiger's head and not his expression as he takes it in his mouth. "Good."

Victoria snaps photos for a few minutes like that, long enough for Karina to wonder how many she can possibly need. But she realizes what's happening when Victoria finally pauses to give instructions again.

"Tiger, ready?" She'd just been waiting for them to relax. Probably she wasn't planning on using any of those pictures at all. Karina admires her a bit again and wonders what kind of photography she usually does. "Okay. Try to look a little more eager. Karina, shift a bit to your left, and look down at him possessively."

Looking 'possessive' isn't actually something Karina has done for photos before, but she makes the attempt. She stares down at the back of Tiger's head. _Mine. He's mine._ She can feel her face heat again.

"Good." Victoria says, and takes a few more photos. "Now, let's change it up." Tiger takes the condom out of his mouth and massages his jaw. "Blue Rose, unfold your legs. Tiger, I want you leaning in between her knees."

Tiger freezes at that instruction. Graciously, Victoria adds, "Just up against her boots for now. We're going for the suggestive angle. Your head will be blocking the view, but you can still look at me with the condom in your mouth."

They both move to follow her directions. Karina uncrosses her legs, sitting to the side as Tiger moves in and tilts his head against her knee. But he doesn't move in far enough for what Victoria's looking for; Karina can tell the angle's off.

"Come on, Tiger, can't you do anything right?" Karina says automatically, and spreads her legs wider around him, snatching the condom from his hands, eying the angle to the camera before sliding forward so his head is right in line with her crotch. 

He finally glances back at her, automatically, and then it occurs to Karina forcefully that his head blocking the view means _he_ has a very clear view of the tops of her bare thighs and the crotch of her leotard. It's not as if it's that much more revealing than her costume normally is, but with him down between her legs it feels obscene. She opens her mouth, and Tiger's eyes dart from her crotch up to her face before he starts stuttering, "S-Sorry, I—"

Karina sticks the condom back into his mouth. "Shut up. It's fine. Face the camera."

Tiger blinks and turns back towards Victoria, who smiles quietly and takes a few photos. Karina takes the time to think, looking down at Tiger's profile. Her whole body feels warm, but that's only half in embarrassment. It feels good to have him this close. And he'd been looking. Just for a moment, but—maybe she could do this.

She forgets to school her expression into a Blue Rose smirk, and who knows what Tiger's face is showing, but whatever they looked like must have been acceptable, because it's not long before Victoria pauses again. "Okay, good. One more pose in the chair. Tiger, you can give that back to Blue Rose."

"Huh?" Tiger says, and the condom falls out of his mouth. "Oh… right." He picks it back up and hands it to her, shifting away slightly and being obviously careful to look at her face this time. Karina can't help smiling as she takes it. Tiger looks a little surprised.

"Okay, now that you're all warmed up," Victoria says, and Karina can feel her face heating a bit more. "Blue Rose, sit back and spread your legs a bit wider. Tiger, kneel completely between them, facing her this time. Chin on the chair. Blue Rose, hold his head."

Karina's the one who freezes this time. Tiger jumps to his feet in alarm. "What?! Uh, that is, ma'am… isn't that a bit much?! That's way too suggestive!" The cameraman from HeroTV looks a bit embarrassed, too, and starts turning to Victoria to say something of his own, but he's interrupted by Karina speaking up, standing as well, before she's entirely aware of what she's saying.

"Tiger, what exactly do you think this campaign is for? It's _supposed_ to be suggestive, that's the point." Tiger turns back to her in shock, and she pokes him in the chest with a finger. "Unless you're too uncomfortable with it? You can always quit if you want."

Tiger stammers even more as he looks down at her. "N-No, I—I took the job, it's not that I want to quit, but you—"

"Don't try and make this about me!" She puts the hand holding the condom on her hip. "I'm fine. I'd be a lot more fine if you'd do your job and stop complaining."

"Ahh…" Tiger looks back at the others for help, but Victoria just tilts her head inquisitively and the cameraman is mysteriously avoiding eye contact to check nonexistent messages on his phone. "...Well, I guess if you're fine with it, Blue Rose."

"Good." Karina says, and moves back to the chair, though her mind is screaming as she takes her seat. "Then come here."

Abashed, Tiger steps back over to her as well. She spreads her legs and he kneels obligingly. When he leans in to put his chin on the chair between her thighs, it becomes very clear exactly how close that puts his face to her crotch, and she can feel her body heating up again.

Perhaps encouraged by Karina's outburst, Victoria steps in immediately to start giving instructions again. "Go ahead and put your hands on her legs." Tiger puts his hands just above her knees, on the top of her boots. She can only feel it a little, but she swallows back a gasp anyway. Tiger looks up at her with concern again, but somehow that only makes it better, and she curls a hand around his head before she remembers that's what she was supposed to do anyway. It's even the hand with the condom clutched in it, and after a second she shifts to hold it visibly between her gloved fingers on the back of his head.

"Perfect. Tiger, just turn your head back down a little and hold that pose."

Karina holds that pose, looking down at Tiger, who closes his eyes as he turns his head to face a few inches away from her crotch. She sees his nostrils flare a little, though, and belatedly she wonders if he can smell how turned on she is, that close. Her costume really doesn't cover much. She doesn't let her expression change, but her expression was probably pretty revealing to begin with. The idea sends a fresh rush of heat through her, and she thinks she can feel her heartbeat in the blood in her groin. What she can see of Tiger's expression looks conflicted, and it's probably a very good thing he's not facing the cameras.

"Good," Victoria says, too suddenly, and Karina reluctantly lifts her hand away from Tiger's head. He's quiet as he stands this time, looking at her with an expression she's never seen on his face before. It's hard to read, and she presses her lips together and meets his eyes as she stands as well.

"That was better. What's next?" She's addressing Victoria, but she doesn't look away from Tiger's face.

"I'd like to get a few wall shots too. Over this way." Victoria waves them over to another set, less warm living room and more battle-worn alley. "Every situation is the right situation for using protection, that sort of thing. Tiger, come here for a moment." He blinks and walks over to her, and she proceeds to unbutton his shirt halfway with a businesslike air, though she leaves his tie on but loose.

"H-Hey…" His protest is a little weak, and he looks so good like that that Karina's almost not jealous.

Victoria tugs his shirt a bit more, adjusting, before waving him back to the set. "That looks good. Okay, back against the wall. Blue Rose, take this one." She trades out the condom in her hand for another one with a more starkly colored wrapper and considers her briefly. "Do you think you could make a platform of ice to stand on? I want you at eye level with him. I could get you a box, but—"

"Sure," Karina says immediately, and summons her power. The rush of cold air feels refreshing, and she forms a ramp of ice ending in spikes at Tiger's knees.

"Whoa, easy!" His eyes widen, and she smirks at him.

"You're fine." 

Even walking on her ice she still feels hot, but she's stopped worrying about it. She stands eye to to eye with Tiger before glancing back at Victoria.

"Great. Blue Rose, you're a natural. Go ahead and grab his tie again. And I want you to reach in like you're pulling the condom out of his pocket."

"Right." Karina swallows hard, and grips his tie with the hand furthest from the camera before settling the visible one on the front of his hip, like she'd just taken it out of his pocket. She tries not to let her gaze linger there, though, instead following his courtesy and dragging her eyes up to his face. "Alright, Tiger?" She'd meant it as more of a challenge, but he's been so quiet it comes out sounding actually a little concerned. She bites her lip.

He still looks a little shocked, honestly, but after a moment his expression softens. "I'm fine. Thanks, Blue Rose."

He looks really very attractive like that, especially from this close up, and she can feel herself blushing again. "What are you thanking me for?" She huffs. "Just look good for the camera."

"Mm," he says, and his warm expression doesn't fade.

"Blue Rose, try to look at him a little more aggressively," Victoria comments as she settles behind her camera again. Karina tries to recover herself as she snaps a few photos.

"Hmm," Victoria looks up after a moment. "Can we get you in closer? Blue Rose, can you get your foot right in between his legs?"

Karina swallows as she remembers what happened the last time she did that, but she just looks down at her ice and assesses. "I'll need more of a foothold. Tiger, move your knees apart a little." She calls up her power again.

"Be careful with that!" Tiger yelps, but he does widen his stance so she can extend her ice platform all the way to the wall between his legs and slide her foot into place.

"Great," Victoria says, and Karina realizes she'd already been snapping photos as she worked. "Now, get right up against him."

Karina takes a breath and meets Tiger's eyes. He opens his mouth like he's about to object again, but swallows it. "You don't have to, you know," is all he says, low enough for only her to hear.

"I want to," she responds almost instantly, and before she can have a crisis over whether that's revealing too much or how he's going to react, she moves, gripping his tie higher and shifting her weight in to press herself against him, thigh to chest.

She makes a tiny noise which is fortunately more than obscured by Tiger's loud "Wah!" His body is warm against hers, and she _can_ feel a hot bulge against her bare thigh, like this positioned perfectly to press against his groin. She doesn't pull away, though, and trapped against the wall like this, neither does he, just looks at her with fresh surprise.

From the angle of the cameras it's probably not obvious just how much she's pressed against him, she assures herself absently, though it's no doubt still extremely suggestive. She could likely hold herself a little further away and the pictures would still be fine. She really doesn't want to, though, now that she's finally feeling Tiger's body like this, and so instead she just adjusts the hand on his hip, tilting her thigh a little more against him so she can be sure of what she's feeling.

"Blue Rose…" Tiger says, still low, and his voice is a little husky in a way that makes her think even more about sex.

Victoria is snapping photos with dedication the entire time. The HeroTV cameraman, on the other hand, has stopped his filming and eventually coughs deliberately, talking to Victoria in an undertone that doesn't quite stay out of Karina's ears.

"They're both pretty into it, huh?"

"Mm, they've got good chemistry for amateurs," Victoria responds absently. Karina can't manage to feel more embarrassed than she already is. She certainly can't manage to regret it.

Finally, though, Victoria claps a few times and announces, "Great, that's good. I think I've got everything I need." 

Karina blinks and loosens her grip on Tiger's tie. "That's it?"

"Yeah. You're a great model, Blue Rose. I'd work with you again any time." Victoria folds up her tripod. Karina reluctantly moves away and steps down to the ground. It feels cold, and not just from the breeze blowing across her ice crystals.

Tiger looks like he's not quite sure what to do with himself either. "A-Ah, all done? I guess I'd better get changed…" He holds himself at a careful angle as he makes his way to the door. Karina bites her lip and watches him go in his tight pants and rumpled shirt.

Fire Emblem is right. This might be her best chance. If she lets it go now, Tiger will probably brush it off as a job, start acting perfectly normally tomorrow, and never mention it again.

As soon as Tiger is out the door she makes a decision. She hurries after him, waving to Victoria on the way. "Thanks! It was good working with you too!"

She can hear him muttering to himself in the hallway.

"Ah, I've got to calm down! Calm down, old man. It was just a job, that sort of thing doesn't affect you." He's holding his tie in a tight grip in his hand.

"Tiger," she calls out after him before he can get any further. 

He jumps visibly before turning half to face her. "B-Blue Rose!"

She freezes. She made her decision, but what exactly does she say now? She's quiet long enough that Tiger's distress fades into concern, and he starts to open his mouth again.

"Do you want to get dinner?" She says abruptly.

"...Huh?"

She crosses her arms and says it more firmly, trying not to think too hard. "Have dinner with me. You don't have any other plans, right?"

"Well… no…" He looks honestly puzzled.

"Good. I'll meet you outside in twenty minutes." She walks up and past him, and can't help giving him one more once-over before she hurries ahead. "I need to get changed too."

***

She removes her costume in her van, as usual. As she brushes her hair out she wonders what she's doing again. _He's Tiger_ , she remembers Fire Emblem saying, and smiles at the mirror. She's committed now. The worst thing that could happen is that he tells her it's impossible. If that happens… well, things will still be different. She won't have to wonder how he can possibly be so oblivious. Maybe she'll be able to finally stop with this ridiculous crush… She almost starts to feel like she's hoping for it, even. But that might just be that the best case scenario is too much to hope for.

"Okay!" She says to herself, and heads out.

Tiger is waiting for her this time, to his credit. He's changed back to his usual outfit. It's certainly less tight, but it suits him better. She does wonder, though, not for the first time, if Tiger is aware how much his striped tie and suspenders point down between his legs. She has to assume he doesn't. He's hopeless when it comes to fashion.

"Blue Rose," he says with a nervous smile when he sees her, and something else occurs to her.

"If we're going out like this, call me Karina," she says, and it comes out much easier than she expects it to. She counts it as a victory she managed to keep her voice mostly even. It's not as if she normally makes a rule of it when she's out with Dragon Kid or Fire Emblem, but if she's taking opportunities, she can start with the opportunity to have Tiger call her by her name.

"Ah, right!" He says with a grin. "Karina. I wouldn't want to compromise your identity. And you should call me Kotetsu."

"Your identity is already compromised," she says automatically, with a snort. But then, more experimentally, she adds, "Kotetsu." Her face must be bright red. How is she ever going to make it through dinner?

***

Their conversation stays neutral as they work out what they're doing. They end up in the Justice Tower restaurant, and Karina is a little more relaxed again by the time they sit down. She's been here enough times with the others. This really isn't that different, right?

Kotetsu blinks at her when she orders a cocktail, but doesn't comment. She purses her lips a little and restrains herself from saying anything like _yeah, I'm old enough now, so what? Having a drink with dinner is fine_. She absolutely doesn't want to get in any discussions about whether she's "old enough now." It's true she's not a child, but there's never going to be a time when she's old enough for this not to be weird. She frowns, distracted by self-doubt rising again.

Kotetsu must noice, because he looks a little more relaxed and smiles at her reassuringly. "You did really well today, Blue—er, Karina."

She flusters. "Of course I did! How is it possible you're so bad at photoshoots after you've been doing this for so long? I do that sort of thing all the time."

"What?" His expression is dramatic, eyes wide.

Karina chokes. "—I mean, not _that_ sort of thing!" Her voice is too loud, and she drops it when she notices looks from nearby tables. "That was my first time for—anything like that. But it's not really that far outside Blue Rose's usual image."

"Ah, that's true." He sighs. "Queen of Sadists and all that, right? I'm not really interested in that sort of thing myself, but you're definitely good at it."

"That's just the job," she snaps back. Then their waiter fortunately shows up with their drinks. She thanks him and they order food, and then she turns her face into her drink for a moment. This isn't exactly how she wanted this to go. She swallows hard. "Besides, if you're not interested, then why—" But she can't actually finish the question, her throat closing up as she vividly remembers the press of heat against her thigh.

Kotetsu seems to guess what she's referring to anyway. "A-Ah… er, well… that's different. I just—you know," he stammers. "I… You're a very attractive young woman, Karina. Sorry you've got an old man like me noticing that."

Annoyance wells up and overcomes the block in her throat again. "Don't apologize for it. I wanted you to notice." The surprise on his face almost makes her hesitate, but then her mouth is opening again. "I've wanted you to notice for a while."

He's just staring at her in confusion now. "What? What do you mean?"

All of a sudden she can't hold back. "I mean what I said! You're—you're an an idiot, a clumsy, obnoxious, oblivious old man! But—you're the most caring person I know, you try the hardest to help people. You hide your feelings too much, but you really think about things like that! You taught me—showed me how to do it. That I could do it!" She can feel tears welling up at the corners of her eyes and she angrily blinks them back. "And you look really good in tight pants for an old man. I mean, you look good normally, too. So—I wanted you," she trembles with the effort of staying in her seat. "To notice me."

With effort she manages to meet Kotetsu's eyes. She's not sure if she's ever seen him look more shellshocked. If she had any remaining doubts he was just playing oblivious to her crush, they're completely gone now. After a long moment of silence, though, he looks like he's at least thinking.

"And you've been looking out for me, too, huh…" he says, absently.

"I'll keep doing that regardless," she says, a little more evenly, though her whole body is still wired from the rush of the confession, tense, heart beating quick. "I know—I've always known I—I'm really young for you," she manages. "I'm not saying this because I expect anything. But—I definitely wouldn't mind if—" No; her throat closes again. She can't actually say it. "Anyway, I definitely don't want you to think I thought you were gross, or you were taking advantage of me or anything. If anything it was the other way around."

"You weren't taking advantage of me!" Kotetsu responds immediately, half-laughing.

"Oh yeah? I'm not all that sure you'd notice when you're being taken advantage of," Karina says, a smile quirking her lips despite her nerves.

"I can promise you that much, at least," he says, warmly enough that she starts to relax more. "Sorry, this is a bit of a shock. I'm not Bunny, I don't get love confessions in the mail every day."

Karina snorts. "It's a good thing you're not him."

Kotetsu gives her another puzzled look. "Well, anyway… give me a bit for it to sink in, okay?"

"I'm not going to pin you to the table right now or anything," she says, and it's supposed to be flippant, but after this afternoon it sends a warm flush through her.

Kotetsu takes a moment to respond too. His face looks a little like he'd looked earlier, against the wall. She feels a weird bubble of hope. He hadn't said it was impossible immediately.

"Ha ha!" He says eventually. "Not while we've still got food coming, I hope."

"I can restrain myself," Karina says, deadpan. Kotetsu grins.

She feels almost lightheaded from the relief. He _knows_ now. He knows and he's still grinning at her. They can joke about it. It's done, she never has to worry about hiding it or telling him again. It's somehow much easier to look him in the eye now, though she's still giddy from his attention.

"Have you _ever_ gotten a love confession in the mail?" She asks after a sip of her water, half to make conversation and half because she's genuinely curious.

"Two!" He responds immediately, and Karina snorts again. He's too excited about it. "Well, they were both pretty recently. I've finally gotten a bit more popular. Though, one of them was from an elementary schooler…"

"That doesn't even count!" Karina crosses her arms. "Geez, is that really the best you can do? You've got a lot of appeal, you know. If you just pulled yourself together a bit more you could be a lot more popular. You've got something that really wins people over."

"I'm not a hero because I want to be popular," Kotetsu says, mildly.

Karina sighs. "I know." She can't actually keep criticizing him on that one.

"How about you? Blue Rose is really popular, don't you get a lot of confessions? You really still don't have a boyfriend?"

"Of course I get a lot of confessions!" She can feel her face heating again and she stalls by taking another sip of water. "But it's usually weird stuff. You know, 'Oh, Blue Rose, I want to lick your boots and have you step on me,' that sort of thing. And even the more normal stuff isn't real. It's just fans, they don't know anything about me." She wraps her hands around her glass and turns it a few times, looking at her nails. "And everyone else, my classmates and stuff… obviously I haven't told them I'm a hero. They don't know anything about what it's like. Which is fine, there's no way they could, but…" She looks up at Kotetsu and pauses. He's watching her with the look she remembers from long ago at the bar, the one where he thinks he's starting to understand her better. She ducks her head again and continues. "It's not like I want to date anyone when it's that shallow! I don't have time for that. Being a hero is way more important anyway." And it's not like she's wanted to date anyone else anyway, but she doesn't say that. Even when they're objectively smarter, cooler, more conscientious....they still feel inferior when she compares them to Kotetsu.

"I see," Kotetsu says after a moment. "That makes sense. I guess I hadn't thought about how hard it must be for a girl like you. I didn't become a hero until I was already married." Karina's heart twists a bit at the reminder. "And Blue Rose is definitely different. I guess you don't really have a lot of choices, huh?"

She's about to nod, but at that comment she snaps out instead. "Don't put it like that!" She's too loud again, and she drops her voice again as she sees people glance over. "It's not like you're a choice of last resort either, okay? I've thought a lot about this," an understatement, "and if I didn't like anyone, I just wouldn't like anyone. Like I said, it's not like I really want a boyfriend or anything."

"Even if you say that… girls have their own desires too, right?" He sounds a little bit like he's quoting someone.

"I'm not saying I don't," she says, cheeks hot as she remembers the look on his face when it was between her legs. "But I've done just fine handling my _desires_ on my own so far."

Kotetsu looks confused for a moment, then a combination of embarrassed and something else as he must guess what she's talking about.

Her throat tightens. "I mean! You must too, right? You're not _that_ old, and you haven't…" she trails off briefly, "...been married for a while."

Kotetsu visibly sobers a little, though he still looks embarrassed. "Y-Yeah, well. It's different for me," he manages awkwardly.

"It's not different!" She bites her lip. "I mean, I know it's different. But it's not like I'm just thinking of you because I'm—" she struggles for an elegant word and gives up— "horny, and there aren't better options, okay. You're an old man with your magazines or whatever, but there's the internet now. And plenty of—" she swallows, "plenty of things to use."

She's talking about sex toys with Tiger. She's can't imagine how she's getting any of the words out of her mouth, but it's too late to take any of this back. She spends a moment distracted thinking of how many times she's used them thinking of him. Fortunately, he seems too flustered as well to respond or notice, and eventually she attempts to change the subject.

"Anyway! I just like you, okay?!" She huffs. "Sorry if that causes problems for you."

"It's not a problem…" He says slowly, and this time it's him who stalls by sipping his drink.

"It's already caused a problem for you today, right?" She frowns, speaking more seriously now. "With the photo shoot. Even if it's the job, you really didn't need to do that, you know. I just yelled at you because I wanted you to do it. That's what I mean about taking advantage of you."

"That wasn't a problem either! It's not that I didn't want to do it, I was just worried about you."

"Well, you don't need to worry about that." She pauses. "So, you _did_ want to do it?"

He hedges. "I mean, I still think it's a little much for an advertisement. That sort of thing should stay in private."

It's such a _him_ answer that Karina laughs. "You're really too old fashioned." But then she actually thinks about it. "...Though, I guess I don't completely disagree. Some of that…" She blushes hard. "Well, I probably got a little carried away! I'll have to look at the proofs and make sure they don't go with anything too…" she trails off, imagining a photo of her pressed thigh to chest against Tiger plastered on the side of a building.

"Yeah…" Kotetsu says awkwardly, and she wonders if he's picturing the same thing. "I'll trust you with that, okay?"

"Mm," she says, vaguely affirmative, as she considers the reality that that means she'll have to look through the photos of what they did. Maybe she'll try to keep some… But then she feels guilty again, with Kotetsu still sitting across the table looking at her. "Hey, Ti—Kotetsu. You really don't mind?" She means her looking through the photos, but he pauses long enough that he's probably taking it more broadly, and she doesn't try to clarify.

"I'm proud of you," he says eventually, and she just blinks in confusion. "You said all that about me being a hero and helping you, but I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for you either, Blue Rose. You've come really far already. You're gonna be a way better hero for way longer than some old man who's losing his powers. So… I'm surprised! But I don't mind. It's flattering…"

A swell of feeling rises in Karina's chest, and she's not sure how to respond. Eventually she just says, "Karina."

"Huh?"

"I told you to call me Karina. I want you to call me by my name." She manages to meet his eyes as she says it.

"Karina. Sorry." He rubs the back of his head. "Even after all this time, I still misjudged you a bit, I think." He drops his hand to tap at the edge of his water glass. "And you are a very attractive woman too, though I hadn't really thought about it that personally until last night."

Karina's heart thumps. "Last night? What happened last night?"

Kotetsu's eyes widen suddenly. "Nothing! I-I meant yesterday! Yesterday afternoon!"

"You're an awful liar," Karina starts, but before she can say anything else, their dinner arrives. Kotetsu looks blatantly relieved by their waiter's presence, and fills his mouth with food almost immediately. Karina sighs and drops the conversation to eat in silence for a few minutes herself. It takes most of that time for her heart to stop trying to jump out of her chest.

She does calm down a bit eventually, and when she finishes her food she feels better, and she sips at her mostly untouched cocktail before finally managing to work up the courage to say, "Hey, Kotetsu."

He looks up, faint anxiety still on his face.

"You said that sort of thing should stay in private, right?" He nods automatically. "So, would you want to do things like that in private with me?" His eyes widen again and he opens his mouth, but before he can actually say anything she cuts in again. "I mean, not specifically like that! I'm not really interested in being the queen of sadists either. But—sometime…" She trails off vaguely, and he still doesn't respond, apparently waiting for her to finish. _You'll really have to go for it_ , she remembers suddenly. Not sometime. "Come back to my apartment with me after this," she concludes, managing to sound firm somehow, though her gaze is locked on her empty plate.

She apparently manages to surprise him into silence again. She waits, trying to consider it positive that he doesn't reject her immediately. When he does speak, it's just, "Bl—Karina… are you really sure you want to say that? You haven't—you could still do a lot better than an old man like me."

"I'm sure!" She snaps, head snapping up, and this time she doesn't really care if the nearby tables can hear her. "I'm really, really sure. Weren't you listening to anything else I was saying? It's fine if you don't want to," though her voice trembles a little on it, "but tell me. If you're interested at all… I want to try it."

There's another long pause as Kotetsu looks her over carefully. She doesn't break eye contact, and squares her shoulders a little.

"If I come back with you," he says eventually, quietly, and her heart skips a beat. "No promises, okay? I don't know what you have in mind… I guess kids these days have pretty vivid imaginations." She opens her mouth to complain automatically but he shushes her with a hand. "I _am_ pretty old-fashioned for this, so I don't know if I can give you what you want. But it's not that I'm not at all interested."

"That's—fine," she says, blinking rapidly in surprise. It's so unexpected that she can't even start to process it. Tiger's really going to come back with her?

He laughs awkwardly. "You're the one always yelling at me about hiding my feelings, right?"

Karina finally ducks her head. "Because you never think enough about yourself. You'd better not be saying yes because you think it will be better for me." Kotetsu blanches a little, and she jerks her head back up to glare at him. "You are!"

He shakes his head and waves his arms in vehement denial, knocking his water glass into the remnants of his plate in the process. "Wah! Sorry!" He does his best to contain the spill with his napkin before a couple of busboys hurry over with more to help him clean up. Karina slumps into resigned silence to wait.

"God, how is it possible you're so clumsy?" is all she manages while they have an audience, though her voice is too tight to sound properly annoyed.

Eventually they leave, the table mopped and fresh water poured for Kotetsu, which he sips carefully before speaking again as Karina stares at him sullenly.

"...I do think it would be better for you for us to try and see," he says. "If this was just some passing thing for you there's no way I'd agree! But you've thought about it a lot, right?" Karina nods shortly. "But there's also no way I'd agree just because of that, you know! What kind of guy do you think I am?" He sighs. "I'm really not sure, alright? I haven't—done anything, since Tomoe. And with how young you are I should probably turn you down no matter what. But it's not like I don't see where you're coming from. I trust you. And you are an attractive woman… it's not like I'm not affected by that—obviously," he says with some apparent effort, and then takes a long moment to continue. "Ah… I had a dream about you last night. You, not Blue Rose." He gestures vaguely at her. "I won't go into the details or anything, but… I want to see how it could go too, alright? For myself."

It takes her a moment to take that all in, and longer to really absorb it. 

"You really want to?" She says after another long pause, challenging to cover the way her heart feels firmly lodged in her throat.

"I really want to," he repeats, his voice low and reassuring. She feels a flush go through her whole body.

"Okay," she responds, still trying to believe this is real.

Their waiter comes by with their check. Karina snatches it before Kotetsu can say anything. "You can get it next time," she says, "if you don't have to pay any damage fines between now and then."

"Hey," Kotetsu says, but it's a weak complaint. "It's not like I destroy things _that_ often."

"Are you sure about that? Maybe you'd better take me out again soon." She still hasn't absorbed that this is happening and she still isn't sure it won't ruin everything, but it's easy enough to tease and put up a front. Kotetsu just sighs and acquiesces, and they leave the restaurant together after she's paid.

***

Her apartment isn't far, just down the road a bit on the Silver Stage. Their taxi driver doesn't seem to recognize Kotetsu, which is probably a very good thing. Karina bites her lip a little as they ride in silence. As old-fashioned as it is, Kotetsu is right about some of the benefits of keeping your identity secret. Taxi drivers are generally discreet, but still, rumors spread. She winces at the image of one of the gossip magazines running a headline. _Wild Tiger escorts a young lady home_ , or something like that. 

Kotetsu doesn't seem worried about that, though, instead smiling nervously at her as they get out of the car. "This is your place, huh?"

She leads him in, opens the door and turns on the light. "Yeah. It's not too exciting or anything." She looks around, trying to see it like she's here for the first time. She wishes a little that she'd thought to clean up this morning, but honestly she doesn't spend enough time here for it to be too bad, especially by Kotetsu's standards. And she's a little proud of how cutely decorated it is. No impersonal bare rooms like Barnaby's old apartment. The living room has a comfortable couch and TV, the kitchen is tidy and open to it, and the bedroom overlooks it from the loft above.

"No, it's nice," Kotetsu says as he looks around. "It suits you."

"W-Well," she's blushing again. "Feel free to sit down. I'll… make us some tea…" She says vaguely, retreating to the kitchen. Now that they're here she has no idea what to do.

It seems like Kotetsu doesn't either, because he just laughs awkwardly, taking a seat at the corner of the couch. "Yeah, thanks. That sounds great."

She gets out cups and starts the kettle, then just stares at it as she tries to build her courage up again.

"Relax, Bl—Karina," It startles her so much she does the opposite, jumping in surprise. Kotetsu is turned to look at her. "Whatever happens, it'll be okay, right?"

"What a cliche line," she responds automatically, but she can feel the knot of tension in her chest ease anyway, as she turns back towards his smiling face. She leaves her water for the moment and walks over to the couch, taking a deep breath as she faces him.

"I'm—I'm going to kiss you now, okay?!" She says with unnecessary force, and before he can answer she leans in to do it.

For a moment it's intensely awkward, his lips motionless under hers, her kiss off center, his beard brushing her face scratchily. But then he responds, hesitantly moving to meet her, and even that makes warmth curl between her legs. She puts her hands on his shoulder to steady herself as she leans in more, and she is a little distracted by marvelling at the solid breadth of them and the body heat she can feel even through his shirt. That's probably good, because that means she's less focused on exactly how her mouth is moving as they both don't pull away. What if he can tell she doesn't have any experience with kissing like this?

He reaches up to her waist, touching just lightly, and she can't help a tiny gasp against his mouth at how sensitive her skin feels at that. She tries to move closer, stepping in again, but her leg knocks against his knee and she loses her balance, all her weight pitching forward as she yelps a little.

He catches her automatically, again, but of course that breaks the kiss, and she's sprawled half across him, leaning into his shoulder as he grips her waist, her face hot with both arousal and embarrassment.

"Haha," he laughs, though it's pitched oddly low and she doesn't really feel like she's being made fun of. "Looks like I'm not the only one who can be a little clumsy, huh?"

"Shut up," she says, glaring at him as much as she can manage when she's this close. She adjusts herself, not bothering to stand back up, instead throwing a leg over to straddle his lap. His eyes widen and darken, encouragingly. She moves her hand to his tie, flashing back to earlier—gripping his tie, pressing him against the wall—but she just slides her fingers to the knot, pulling it loose. "Is this alright?"

"...That's fine, yeah," he says after some hesitation. She finishes untying it completely and discards it to the side. Then she undoes the top buttons of his shirt as well, pausing to look him over as it unfolds to reveal his collarbone. He looks ridiculously good like this, on her couch, casually undone. But he's just looking up at her with an unreadable expression. Her heart is beating quick with excitement and borderline panic.

"...Is it really alright?" She asks again, hands frozen on his shirt. 

He blinks and shakes his head as if to clear it, then smiles. "Yeah, sorry. It's still a little hard to believe this is happening.

"You think it's hard for _you_ ," she starts to mutter, but she's interrupted by his hand touching her hair, cupping her face to pull her in for a kiss again. Her heart nearly jumps out of her chest in surprise, but after a moment, she relaxes, the kiss gentle and reassuring, making her whole body feel warm and loose. Once she's settled down a bit, his other hand caresses down her hip, and she shivers. He stops at the lace hem of her dress, ridden up high as she straddles his thighs. Distantly, she hears the hiss and click of the kettle she'd set shutting off, but tea is the last thing she wants right now. Without breaking the contact with his lips, she moves a hand to his wrist, urging him down further to her bare thigh—but when his fingers _do_ brush her skin, she squeaks involuntarily at the spark it sends through her and her face burns again as he chuckles close to her lips.

"You don't have to get ahead of yourself, you know," Kotetsu says with another smile. 

She lets go of his wrist to go back to his buttons. "Shut up," she says again, and swallows at how much more breathless it sounds this time. She pulls his buttons open the rest of the way, and tugs his shirt off entirely as well, dropping it to the floor. The dark skin of his chest is lightly mottled with scarring, not obvious but certainly visible this close, and she traces her fingers over it lightly. He shivers. "I want you to touch me."

"...Okay," Kotetsu says, and traces his hand more firmly across her bare skin, fingertips edging up under the edge of the lace. Her breath catches and she squirms, splaying her hands over his chest before she leans in to kiss him again.

The kiss is more intense this time, prolonged and open-mouthed, as both their hands slowly explore skin. She doesn't break it, wondering how long this can keep going with her arousal building in a slow spiral. She's already more turned on than she was even at the photoshoot. Their lips finally part when one of her nails catches Kotetsu's nipple accidentally, and he gasps. She pulls away enough to watch him as she repeats the motion deliberately, dragging her thumb hard across it. He moans at that, surprisingly loud, and that turns her on more, and she shifts her hips closer to him automatically, his hand sliding a little further up under her skirt. She looks down to his crotch, and there's definitely a bulge in his pants again. She moves her hand down.

But then she freezes, hand paused at his belt in panicked realization. Kotetsu notices something is amiss immediately and pulls his hand back.

"Karina? Is something wrong?"

"No—" she responds immediately, annoyed that he stopped touching her. "Well, I mean, yes, I just—" it takes her a moment to get it out. "I don't actually have any condoms."

Kotetsu blinks at her and is quiet for a beat before he starts laughing, deep and genuine, and her mouth twists in irritation but her chest feels warm. "Is that what you were thinking about?"

"Of course that's what I was thinking about," she huffs. "What, you still thought I didn't really want to?"

"No," he says, but Karina's not sure she believes him. "But we don't have to do it right away."

She opens her mouth to protest again, tell him that she _wants_ to, badly, even if obviously she isn't going to without a condom, that she's turned on enough that the idea of stopping this without sex seems awful, but he moves his hands back to the hem of her dress and tugs it up, and after a moment of surprise she lifts her arms so he can pull it off over her head, and then she's straddling his lap in her socks and underwear. After dropping her dress sloppily to the floor—she can't even care that it's going to get wrinkled—he settles his hands at her waist again and leans in to kiss her bare collarbone.

"I mean," he stammers, ruining the moment. "We don't have to do it like that! It's fine if I just use my mouth, right?"

_He's going to use his mouth!_ She thinks, frantically, still not really absorbing it. So she ends up responding, like it's a question on a sex ed quiz, "As long as you don't have herpes or anything." She immediately regrets it. _Of course he doesn't have herpes, could I have said anything less sexy?!_ "Augh! Sorry! I mean—" It's her turn to stammer, covering her face and trying to say what she really means. "I mean. I-I'd really… like… that…" she trails off, almost inaudibly.

He's grinning at her again when she drops her hands from her eyes, and she's embarrassed, but then his gaze drops, looking over her unadorned bra and down to where her panties cover her. She's very aware of their dampness as he looks, and her embarrassment melts away in favor of arousal again.

"Alright! Then how's this?!"

His grip tightening on her waist is her only warning for what's going to happen. He picks her up bodily and moves her to the side, rolling so that her back hits the couch beside him. It would be a smooth move except that, not expecting it, she flails for balance and their legs knock together, and ultimately she ends up half off the couch, one leg folded under. "Ah! _Tiger_!"

"Sorry!" He says, looking genuinely repentant. She sighs, and then shifts to lie back properly, though she leaves one leg splayed over the edge, flushing a little at how exposed she is.

"It's fine," she says after a moment, and squirms a little at the way he's looking down at her. He doesn't do anything more than look, though, for long enough that it becomes a little worrying. "Kotetsu?"

"It's fine!" He echoes. Then, after a moment, he adds, sheepishly, "You're really a gorgeous girl. Woman." It really should be a little chilly in her apartment with this little clothes on, but instead what little she does have on feels awkward and stuffy against her skin.

"...Yeah, well, you're an attractive old man," she retorts, like a comeback. When he still doesn't move to do anything, she sits back up enough to reach back and unhook her bra. His eyes widen again as she pulls it off.

"How's that?" She asks, challenging again to cover her nervousness. "Are you going to back out already?"

"No!" He says, and finally moves. He settles down over her, and she feels a spike of pleasure just from the heat and weight of his body even before his warm hands cup her breasts and his lips kiss the top of one lightly.

She can't help but cry out. "Ah!" He looks up in alarm again, and she snaps. "Don't _stop_!" She gets a brief flash of that smile that always makes her heart beat faster before he obligingly dips his head again. He trails his mouth down to her nipple, his beard tickling her skin again, and then he _licks_ as his hand caresses her other breast. She lets out an embarrassing mewling noise as she threads her hands into his hair, which even more embarrassingly continues, drawn out as he _doesn't stop_. Her breasts have never been this sensitive to anything she's done to them.

"Ti-Tiger," she stammers as she tries to catch her breath. "Kotetsu," she corrects, as he finally pauses to look at her again. She realizes her back is taut and arched, lifting her hips looking for contact she can't really get with him bent over her like this. "I—I don't want to wait," she manages after a moment. "Can you—Will you really—"

"If that's what you want, Karina," he responds, and it occurs to her absently that he's sort of doing the thing again, but she's distracted from worrying too much about it by how her name sounds when he says it in that low gravelly voice, and the fact that he does move his hands down to her panties.

It's a little bit awkward getting them off. He tugs them down, his breath catching audibly, and the cool air against her damp skin makes her bite her lip. She lifts her hips and shifts her legs, but even so they get caught at her knees, and after he pulls futilely a few times, just managing to twist them, she laughs and bends to help, pulling them off for him. She can't even be put off by his clumsiness when she's finally naked underneath him. She watches him as he looks down at her, eyes dark and expression intense. 

After a moment, though, he breaks into a familiar grin and meets her eyes. "Ready? You're really gonna see what I can do now." It's a little weak, as his bragging goes, but it makes anxiety she didn't know she was still holding onto melt away. She moves a hand into his hair again.

"I've _been_ ready," she responds, roughly, but even so she gasps as he slides his hands up the insides of her thighs, parting her legs again. His nostrils flare as he dips his head down between them, and a tremble runs through her as his hands stroke up over the bend of her legs, absently over her thatch of pubic hair, and then gently part her folds. She takes a deep and shuddering breath.

When he finally does it—leans in the last few inches and licks a stripe over the sensitive skin there and her clit—it feels so intense that she yelps, and it's only after she registers his short "Gh!" noise against her that she realizes she's tightened her hand painfully in his hair.

"S-Sorry," she manages, loosening it deliberately.

"Okay?" he asks, and she almost grips too hard again at how he looks looking up at her from between her legs now.

"Yeah," she swallows. "That's—good. Just a lot."

He nods slightly, turning his attention back down, and he strokes the hollow at the junction of her thighs, soothing, and his beard scratches lightly at her skin as he moves in, licking again, a little more gently this time, almost teasing, and she moans helplessly, her whole body rushing with pleasure.

He takes that as encouragement, splaying his hands over whatever he can reach, the warm, slightly rough pads of his fingers stroking sensitive skin as his tongue works her slowly. She cards both hands through his hair repeatedly, the motion only half-conscious, trying not to grip too hard again, and she's only half aware of her breathy moans.

He does that for some amount of time she can't determine before she can manage to feel anything else. Eventually, though, she becomes aware of how much she _wants_ , her body taut with pleasure but not quite getting enough to push her over the edge.

"Your—fingers," she gasps out after a moment, and his steady licks pause. "Put them inside me."

To his credit, Kotetsu doesn't question or pause at that request, and he doesn't even move his mouth away from her as he slides a finger to her vagina. She gasps at how wet she is at his touch, and when he pushes his finger slides into her without much resistance. She shudders in pleasure and moves her hips into his hand. Even this—even his finger feels so much better than anything she's done herself, though most of that is probably just how turned on she already is from his mouth on her.

When his finger is all the way in, that wide pad of his fingertip pressing at her inner walls, she cries out in pleasure again and shivers, clenching around it. He doesn't pause, his rough tongue still pressing against her clit as she rides down hard on his finger, her whole body wracked with shudders. It lasts longer than she expects, and he doesn't let up.

When she can finally focus a little again, she realizes she's gripping his hair again, but he still hasn't stopped, his gentle licks becoming almost uncomfortable against her sensitive clit.

"A-Ah… that's good. Stop," she clarifies, letting go of his hair entirely. He stops, lifting his head and carefully removing his hand, which slides out of her wetly.

"Ah," she says again with a different tone as her eyes properly focus again. Above his lopsided smirk, his hair is dusted with ice crystals where her hands were. "Sorry," she says, embarrassed. She hasn't lost control like that in a long time. She brushes lightly at his hair. The crystals melt where they fall against her skin, which is hot and already damp with a faint sheen of sweat.

Kotetsu laughs and sits up further. "It's fine. Keeps me cool." Now that she's looking, his neck and shoulders are damp and dripping. She flushes.

"I hope you didn't cool down _that_ much," she snaps, and sits up herself, shoving at his shoulders to make him lean back. He looks surprised. "—I knew it! You were just thinking you could take care of me again!"

"No!" He says, but it's not particularly convincing. "I wanted to do that, you know!"

"Good," she says. "And I wanted you to do it. It felt amazing." She can't even be self-conscious anymore when she's naked and sweaty and warm from orgasm, so she doesn't hesitate when she reaches for his belt. "And I want to do this, so you'd better let me know if you have a problem with it."

Reassuringly, there's definitely still an obvious bulge in his pants, and he just stares at her wide-eyed as she gets his buckle and fly open, careful and deliberate. She can at least look like she knows what she's doing, not like his fumbling attempts.

"You don't h—" he starts, but he doesn't finish the sentence, and she realizes that she's snapped her head up to glare at him before she even really processes it. 

"Come on, take them off," she says, more forceful than she would have expected her voice to be, sliding a little into Blue Rose's commanding tone. She's about to apologize when he does actually rise from the couch and slip his pants down off his hips, underwear with them, and the words catch in her throat as she finally gets a look at him naked.

His cock is definitely stiff, flushed dark and purplish, bobbing heavily as he moves. It's both more and less than she'd imagined; he's certainly not porn-star large, but she hadn't expected that. She knows most of the size numbers guys throw around are ridiculous. But numbers are nothing compared to seeing it in person anyway, right in front of her, solid and thick and _it's Tiger's dick!_ It looks good on him, and it _is_ still bigger than the dildo she keeps in her nightstand, at least. She bites her lip and reminds herself that they don't have condoms. She can't feel him inside her right now, even if she starts aching a little again at the thought.

She realizes she's been staring, and jerks her gaze back up to Kotetsu's face, where he's watching her with a strange expression, damp lips parted and wide dark eyes worried. When she meets those eyes, though, his face brightens into the deliberate obnoxious grin he uses when he's trying to hide something. "What are you thinking?"

"I _really_ wish I'd stuck a condom or two in my bag at the photoshoot," she answers, maybe too honest, and he looks surprised again. She grabs his wrist and tugs him back down onto the couch. "But… I like it anyway…" she manages to add, and wraps her hand around his cock experimentally.

"Karina," he says, his voice suddenly rough again. 

"Yes?" She says, tone still demanding to cover any lingering self-consciousness as she feels the weight and heat in her hand, tracing a vein with her finger. "Is there a problem?"

There's a long pause before he answers, and when he goes it's a single, husky, "No."

"Good," she says, and tries stroking him, a long pull up over the head. It tugs his foreskin in a fascinating way, and she immediately tries it again. "How does that feel?" She asks, glancing back up to his face, which is fixed on her hand with an expression that makes her feel warm again.

"That's—great," he manages when he realizes she's waiting for an answer. "You could do it harder if you wanted," he adds after a moment.

"If I wanted, huh?" She says with a grin, and moves to straddle his legs again so she's not doing this awkwardly from the side. His eyes widen a fraction, satisfyingly. "I think I'd like that, yeah." And she tightens her hand into a firm grip around his shaft, stroking with a quick motion.

That gets a _really_ good reaction from him, a real gasp and a twitch of his muscles she can feel against her bare thighs. Even though she just got off, or maybe because of it, she can feel a throb between her legs as she thinks about how it would feel for those muscles to drive the cock in her hand into her. She swallows hard. Maybe another time. _There might be another time._ In the meantime this is exciting enough by itself, Kotetsu aroused underneath her, his breath starting to come harder. She can make him come like this, she thinks with a thrill. She flattens her free hand against his chest as she settles into a rhythm, and experimentally flicks his nipple with her nails again.

"K-Karina," he stutters, and she feels a little dampness at the head of his cock. It makes her jerky tugs slide a little bit smoother.

"You really do look good like this," she says suddenly, voice serious. It feels strange to say that with her mind clear, so straightforwardly, but on the other hand it's easier like this, when they're both already sweaty and naked on the couch together. "I like it. I like seeing you enjoying yourself, and wanting—me." Even so, she half swallows the word. "I want to see you come," she finishes, somehow, face burning hot. 

"Karina," he says again, staring up into her eyes, his pupils so wide that there's barely a rim of the gorgeous honey color around the black. He sounds like he wants to start saying something, but when she scratches over his nipple again, it's interrupted by a deep moan, and he just says. "A little faster. Please."

"Yeah," is all she can manage herself, and she starts moving her hand a little faster. It's still a bit awkward, her arm not accustomed to this motion, but when she looks to him for approval his dazed groan makes it more than worth it.

"Yeah… like that," he says, and her body is burning. She keeps it up, though, and traces her nails over the scars on his chest, over his abs, his skin hot and sensitive, muscles twitching when she hits certain spots.

It doesn't feel like long at all before he's gasping out again. "I'm," he starts, and she holds her breath and tightens her grip. He doesn't finish saying whatever it was before he's coming, and somehow it comes as a surprise that it actually happens. She can feel his cock pulse in her hand, and a spurt of white splatters her stomach before Kotetsu wraps his hand around hers, pulling his cock back so the rest of his come splashes over his own chest. It occurs to her very belatedly that she could have put a towel down over the couch or something. It's a ridiculously mundane thought, but the idea that she might take—that Kotetsu _is taking_ —precautions to not stain her couch with his semen makes her laugh incredulously. 

Kotetsu's eyes flick back up to her at that, and without thinking she leans in to kiss him. He kisses back, heated and immediate, and she thinks she tastes a hint of herself in his mouth still. She shivers.

When she finally pulls away to catch her breath, the dazed look on his face is both dumb looking and better than anything from her dreams. Feeling swells up in her, and she laughs again, happily, for lack of anything else to do with it. 

He blanches a little and looks down. "Uh, sorry." It's true that they're both a mess, but she can't really bring herself to mind.

"It's fine. I'll get us some towels for now." She rises carefully off his lap.

She walks through her apartment to get towels to wipe the come off her stomach, getting another damp in the sink and bringing it to Kotetsu to wipe himself down as well. "Here." Part of her mind is still paralyzed with incredulity at this actually happening, but she manages to attend to the task at hand without thinking too hard about it. It's only once that's accomplished that she stops to really realize that they're still naked and post-orgasmic on her couch together, and she has no idea what to do now. None of her fantasies really got this far.

"...That was pretty good, right?" She manages eventually, suddenly nervous again. This wasn't his first time. What if he was just putting up with it? She feels a little chilly from the lingering dampness on her skin.

This time it's Kotetsu's turn to laugh, and he leans in to kiss her again, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her up close against him. It feels good, his body still solid and warm. The press of his lips is brief, lazy and relaxed, and then he pulls away to respond.

"Yeah, that was great," he smiles, though there's something in it that looks like he's still processing all this too. She settles in more against him, relaxing again.

"Good," she says, almost petulant. "You can—stay, if you want," she adds after a moment. "Um, and have a shower, and sleep." He opens his mouth to respond, but something else occurs to her. "Wait, don't you have an interview tomorrow morning? You guys are the first ones in the live interview event, right?"

From the look on his face Kotetsu had forgotten about it. "Oh, crap!"

"You forgot about it?! You can't go on TV in your wrinkled day-old clothes!" Her voice is critical, but she does flush a little at the idea of Kotetsu putting the shirt and tie she'd pulled off him and thrown to the floor back on and going on television in front of millions of people. She pokes him in the chest. "Never mind, go home and get some sleep and a change of clothes so you're not an embarrassment."

"Fine, fine." Kotetsu says with a smile, ruffling her hair. "I can stay like this a little longer, though, right?"

"...Yeah," Karina says, feeling warm again, and turns her face into his shoulder. She's quiet for a very long moment before she speaks up again. "And we can do this again sometime, right?"

It's his turn to fall quiet for a moment. It's just when she's starting to get worried that he responds. "Yeah," and then, after another pause, "I'd like that."

He can probably feel the heat of her cheeks against his skin "Good!" She blurts. "And I'm going to have condoms next time, so don't think you can back out of it!" After a beat, she blanches. "I-I mean, unless you don't want to."

She can feel his chest shake as he laughs before she pulls away enough to look at his face. He's grinning down at her.

"No, I'll look forward to it."

She turns her face abruptly back into his chest. "Good," she says again, weaker this time.

They stay there like that in comfortable silence for a while, until Karina realizes Kotetsu has actually dozed off. She lets him sleep for longer than she'd admit before eventually shaking him awake and ushering him dressed and out the door.

She wonders while standing under the hot shower spray how she'll manage to face him in the morning at the event, automatically, and her heart beats a little quicker in her chest, but somehow she can't really be worried about it. They'll manage somehow. The gnawing anxiety over whether or not he'll notice is gone, replaced by a nervous thrill over where they'll go from here. She isn't sure about anything, but that's fine. No matter what, they'll both manage to do their jobs.

**Author's Note:**

> Due to popular demand (and my own desire for it) I am currently working on a sequel to this! It is looking to be just as long as this one, though, so I don't have an ETA. Feel free to subscribe to the series for updates!


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